‘When Ethanol Attacks,’ Starring Ted Cruz

January 08, 2016

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by David Weigel (The Washington Post) (Wednesday, January 6, 2016) 11:45 a.m. ... "Because of this EPA wall, the market is currently dominated by low-level ethanol blends, such as 'E10' (10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline)," Cruz writes. "That has prevented mid-level ethanol fuels, such as E25 or E30, from widely reaching American consumers. If allowed full market access, mid-level ethanol products like E25 or E30 could prove quite popular with American consumers."

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12:45 p.m. -- Cruz speaks at the Lantern coffee house in Sibley. There's a more general question about energy -- in his answer, Cruz makes sure to talk about the "level playing field" he wants, for Iowa and everyone else. After the speech, he is buttonholed by a farmer named Wayne Van White, who wants to know about the RFS. Cruz pivots quickly to his idea of lowering the "blend wall."

"It makes it functionally illegally to sell mixes of gasoline with mixes higher than E10 or 15," he says. "As president, I would end that rule, and at the end of the day I think that would have a far greater impact for farmers than a mandate."

Cruz thanks Van White -- "it's a question I'm answering a lot on the trail" -- and the farmer, who's in his 60s, says the answer was as good as he could realistically hope for.

"I'm just concerned that he's promoting oil more than the farm deal because he's from Texas," says Van White.

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1:12 p.m. --

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On conservative media, among people just now hearing what Cruz said, the hot takes turn bright white. "Don't look now but Ted Cruz just caved on ethanol," writes HotAir's Jazz Shaw. Even Tim Carney, the Washington Examiner's eagle-eyed watcher of rent-seeking in the GOP, thinks that Cruz has let people down.

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5:10 p.m. --

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"... I don't believe there should be any mandates or subsidies for any forms of energy, across the board."

The crowd applauds. "When it comes to the RFS," Cruz continues, "I have supported phasing out the RFS over five years. There's no oil or gas subsidies, there's no solar subsidies, there's no wind subsidies." He warns of "lobbyists and Democrats" scaring voters with lies "that this Cruz guy doesn't like ethanol, doesn't like corn," and says that the "blend wall" should come down so that people can buy gas that's more than 10 percent ethanol.

No protest breaks out, until Cruz is finished speaking. Armed with information from ARF, a woman (who prefers not to give her name) races to the part of the stage where King had been standing. She shakes a receipt from a gas station, revealing her purchase of a gas blend that was... 15 percent ethanol.

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5:55 p.m. -- The Cruz campaign issues a statement on the "false accusations from the ethanol lobby," telling anyone who might be confused that "Cruz has consistently supported a five-year phase out of the Renewable Fuel Standard" and "first introduced the five-year phase out in 2014." The pushback seems to be working; Tim Carney, for example, has scrapped his column about the Cruz flip-flop with a column about how the lobbyists were misleading people. READ MORE includes VIDEO; and MORE (Times Republican) and MORE (The Washington Post) and MORE (Biofuels Digest) and MORE (Des Moines Register) and MORE (America's Renewable Future; includes AUDIO) and MORE (Investors.com) and MORE (Buffalo News) and MORE (Bloomberg View) and MORE (ABC30.com) and MORE (The Gazette) and MORE (The Washington Post) and MORE (Huffington Post) and MORE (American Thinker)

Excerpt from Biofuels Digest: America’s Renewable Future provided this guide to the evolution of Cruz’s positions.

	THEN (In Washington)	NOW (In Iowa)
RFS	Supported Immediate RepealSenator Cruz sponsored a 2013 bill called the “Renewable Fuel Standard Repeal Act” that would immediately have repealed the RFS, if passed. [S.1195, Introduced 6/20/13] 5-Year Phase DOWN with 2019 or 2020 Termination Instead of an immediate repeal like in 2013, Cruz instead sponsored bills in 2014 and 2015 that would phase-down the volumetric requirements in the RFS, causing the program to terminate in 2019 and 2020, respectively. If Cruz’s 2014 had passed, volume levels would be cramped down by 40% in 2016. [S.791, 3/18/15; S.2170, 3/27/2014]	New Phase OUT with 2022ExpirationThis year, instead of introducing a 5-year phase-down bill in the U.S. Senate with a 2021 expiration, Cruz said “it should be a five year phase-out from 2017 to 2022.” [Ted Cruz, Cherokee Iowa, 1/5/16(audio)]
Supply of Biofuels	March 2015: “Insufficient Amounts Of Some Biofuels To Meet The Standard”In a March 2015 press release introducing his RFS repeal, Cruz said that “the RFS has proven unworkable and costly. Its mandate that an increasing percentage of renewable biofuels be blended into gasoline and diesel each year ignores the reality there are insufficient amounts of some biofuels to meet the standard.” [Cruz Press Release, 3/18/15]	Ethanol Producers Can Break Through the “Blend-Wall” “That blendwall makes it illegal for ethanol to expand its market penetration, and I intend to eliminate the EPA blendwall to get rid of that barrier, which will enable ethanol to expand in the marketplace to a much larger penetration to sell more ethanol….” [Sen. Cruz, DMR Op-Ed, 1/6/16 ]
Costs of Ethanol	Ethanol Drives “Up the Costs of Fuel, Food, and Goods” Also in 2013, Cruz said that “[t]he impossible mandates of the RFS are driving up the costs of fuel, food and goods.” [Farm Progress, Feb. 2015]	“Ethanol Is An Effective Fuel…That Often Costs Less”“Ethanol is an effective fuel additive because it increases octane and decreases harmful tailpipe emissions. And because ethanol often costs less than other octane additives, ethanol blends can be a win-win for automakers and consumers alike.” [Sen. Cruz, DMR Op-Ed, 1/6/16 ]
Oil Subsidies	Cruz Repeatedly Voted Against Closing Tax Loopholes for Oil Cruz has repeatedly voted against closing oil loopholes on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Cruz in 2015: Oil Subsidies Don’t Exist Cruz told an Iowan in October that “a lot of what are called oil subsidies… are analogous to ordinary business expensing that every other industry gets.’” [Ted Cruz,10/31/15]	Cruz: End All Energy Subsidies Cruz now says that U.S. should, ”end all energy subsidies, and ensure a level playing field for everyone.” [Sen. Cruz, DMR Op-Ed, 1/6/16] Oil Companies’ Drilling Cost Expensing Is Okay “Right now, oil-and-gas producers can immediately expense their drilling costs; my tax plan allows every business, regardless of industry, to do the same thing.” [Sen. Cruz, DMR Op-Ed, 1/6/16]